'Real, Authentic Leadership': Falcons Staff Lauds New DB Jessie Bates III
With the Atlanta Falcons signing former Cincinnati Bengals safety Jessie Bates III to a four-year deal $64 million deal, head coach Arthur Smith believes the move will benefit this young secondary including Grant and fourth-year cornerback A.J Terrell.
"We have other guys on the back end who are in the early part of their career, with A.J. (Terrell) and Richie (Grant)," Smith said. "We think he can provide real, authentic leadership to that group. The playmaking ability is there. The way he studies the game, he's a dynamic playmaker. What we're going to ask him to do, he's really going to benefit our defense."
Heading into the offseason with a need at free safety, Atlanta made noise by signing Bates, who was ranked the No. 4 available free agent according to PFF, making him the fourth-highest paid safety in NFL history.
But it was a well deserved for the 26-year-old, who started every game for the Bengals in his five seasons with the team.
Last season, Bates finished with a career-high four interceptions and finished with a 72.9 coverage grade, per PFF.
This signing also reunites the sixth-year safety with Atlanta secondary coach Steve Jackson, who coached Bates on the Bengals in 2021.
"There's a certain profile of players you want to bring in - smart, tough, highly competitive," Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot told AtlantaFalcons.com. "They need to have a certain skill set and be really good at playing football, and yet, the makeup is very important, and he has all the characteristics that we look for. And we obviously have a coach here in the secondary (Steve Jackson) that overlapped with him and so we know him really well."
The Falcons hope Bates will improve a secondary that gave up the eighth-most passing yards per game last season, while also passing down some leadership throughout this young defense.
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